Squeezed by Rising Input Costs

Land rent negotiations will be particularly challenging going into 2026. Green Solutions Group Farm Management Analyst Kent Thiesse says high crop input costs further complicate the situation. “It looks like fertilizer costs are going to be up anywhere from 15 to 25 percent in many areas. Seed costs look like they’re going to be up, and other ongoing overhead costs. Machinery costs are high. Repair costs are high. So cost of production keeps edging up, and it would be nice to see some improvement in prices by next year, but right now we’re just not seeing that.”